𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓! [pjo]

XXV; dokkaebi

━━━dokkaebi

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・

The four walked overland for an hour, keeping the train tracks in sight but staying in the cover of the trees as much as possible. Once they heard a helicopter flying in the direction of the train wreck. Twice they heard the screech of gryphons, but they sounded a long way off.

Callahan was trying her hardest to become one with her parka, hands stuffed deep into the endless pockets. It got cold in the woods, fast. The stars were thick and glimmering, like millions of diamonds. Cal tipped her head back and sighed. The sky looked close enough to touch.  Then the northern lights cranked up. Callahan's breath left her, and her eyes grew wide. They reminded her of her dad's gas stove when he was cooking. Flickering and blue and gorgeous. Percy looked at her, mesmerized by the lights reflected in her eyes. She looked so peaceful, illuminated by the glowing lights.

"That's amazing," Frank said.

"Yeah..." Percy breathed.

"Bears," Hazel pointed. Sure enough, a couple of brown bears were lumbering in the meadow a few hundred feet away, their coats gleaming in the starlight.

"They won't bother us," Hazel promised. "Just give them a wide berth."

None of them argued. As they trudged on, Callahan thought about all of the adventures she had been on, all of the places she had seen. Alaska had to be one of the best. Everything here was rough, untamed, and untouched. There were no rules, no prophecies, no destinies —just the harsh wilderness and a bunch of animals and monsters. Mortals and demigods came here at their own risk.

If this was what Gaea wanted, then maybe it wouldn't be that bad. But Gaea wasn't a gentle goddess.Callahan knew what she was planning to do. She wasn't like the Mother Earth you might read about in a children's fairy tale. She was vengeful and violent. If she ever woke up fully, she'd destroy human civilization.

After another couple of hours, they stumbled across a tiny village between the railroad tracks and a two-lane road.

The city limit sign said: MOOSE PASS. Standing next to the sign was an actual moose. For a second, Callahan thought it might be some sort of statue for advertising. Then the animal bounded into the woods. They passed a couple of houses, a post office, and some trailers. Everything was dark and closed up.

On the other end of town was a store with a picnic table and an old rusty petrol pump in front.  They all silently sat down at the picnic table. Hazel immediately passed out, her head resting on her arms, slumped against the table. Callahan copied her movements, watching her breath puff and crystalize in the air. Frank handed out the last of his sodas and chips. Cal listened as Percy and Frank talked quietly between each other. A small smile crept up on her unknowing as she listened to the two of them, listening to Percy comfort and compliment their leader. She heard Frank's head thunk against the table and he started to snore.

Percy sighed and leaned back, shuddering against the cold. "Hey Cal?"

She hummed in reply.

"Are we gonna be okay?"

Her heart stuttered. She turned and faced him, looking over his hunched shoulders and downturned lips.

"Percy, we're gonna be okay." She leaned forward and cupped his jaw, "I promise we're gonna be ok."

His eyes were glittering and dark, the stars reflected in them. He was searching her, looking for something.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

Her heart twisted a little and her stomach shrunk a size. "Right now I don't know, but I think I will be later."

    Percy nodded. "You'd tell me if something was wrong?"

    She nodded, and her heart twisted tighter. He searched her eyes, trying to detect any lies. Then he sighed and nodded and tugged her toward him. She curled against him and tucked her head into his chest. He kissed her head.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Needless to say, the owner of the rundown little store was a little freaked out by four dirty kids sleeping on his picnic table, but when Percy told him they were from the trainwreck, the owner gave them breakfast and called a friend to give them a ride to Seward.  Soon, after eating a crappy breakfast, the four of them were rumbling along in an ancient Ford pick-up towards Seward.

    Frank, Hazel and Percy were riding in the way back, leaning on the wall separating the cab from the bed. Callahan rode in front, next to the leathery old Inuit native with an incredibly sweet smile. As they drove, he told her stories of the Inuit gods and their power, and of the land they were on. Callahan listened, and some part of her was glad that these gods didn't exist, at least, not to her knowledge. She told him about the stories she had grown up with, like the dokkaebi and the gumiho, and how her dad would sit by her when she was sick and tell her that a dokkaebi was going to come and sweep her off her feet, like one did to him. It wasn't until she was older that she realized he was talking about her mom, Tyche.

    When the car broke down and they all decided to just walk to Seward instead of waiting for the car to be fixed, Callahan was honestly kind of sad she had to say goodbye.

    By midmorning, Seward appeared over the cusp of a hill with the ocean next to them and the cold air biting at them.

    "Seward" Hazel said, and she didn't sound happy at all about being there.

    The sun was rising quickly, and they had until sundown to complete unfinishable tasks. Callahan wasn't looking forward to it, and it wasn't looking good. Seward seemed like stretched on forever.

    Percy stepped off the road, "Come on."

    And then promptly disappeared underneath a sludge. Callahan screamed.

━━━dookaebi

.・゜゜・───・゜゜・

A//N: plz, plz, plz tell me if I offended you with my use of dokkaebi and gumiho. I am NOT Korean, and I do not know anything about that culture. I took the little I know and used it in my story. If you are Korean and you feel as if I misused your culture in any way, plz tell me. I didn't mean, and I will change it.

ta-ta, my lovies, and thank you for enjoying.